Pretoria - Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk oriented 30 tourism and hospitality students from Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges in Cape Town today.
The students and the minister went on a walkabout through the prestigious One&Only Hotel in Cape Town to be shown the various practical aspects of tourism and hospitality management.
Through this initiative, van Schalkwyk hoped to inspire those working in the tourism and hospitality industry to continue expanding their skills base, as well as emphasise the key role of both industry and training providers to equip the tourism workforce with relevant skills to give South African tourism the edge over its competitors.
Tourism is a people-centred service industry, where staff form an integral part of the consumer experience. Tourism must look to the people working in the industry to serve as a principal source of competitive advantage, the minister said.
"In short, the skills, know-how and conduct of those working in the industry must have the so-called 'x factor' - something unique that will set the South African tourism product apart from the offering of competitor countries," said departmental spokesperson Natasha Rockman.
"To develop the required skills among its workforce, tourism relies heavily on providers of further and higher education. However, the education sector itself could be a somewhat congested space, with quite a number of overlapping courses and service providers," she said.
In 2007, a significant number of students received tourism-related education awards. Some of these awards were made to those students following courses through FET colleges, while others went to graduates from universities and technikons.
Co-operation is improving between the tourism industry and higher education institutions to ensure that tourism training is addressed and receives the relevant attention so that it lives up to its potential.
Tourism workers are encouraged to get further education and training. A 2006 skills audit report showed that the essential expertise required to ensure the competitiveness of the sector include culinary, language and managerial skills, and a good measure of passion and enthusiasm.
